LSU vs. Alabama: A Crimson Tide BCS Victory Should Make Them Co-Champions

We have a rematch in the so-called National Championship game.  Anyone that has listened to my
show knows that I believe the current “system” is a bad joke.  We have computer programs that help pick the participants.  The logarithms that make the selections in those programs seem to be more secret than the launch codes of US Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. 

Given the computers’ affection for the SEC, we have to wonder if the programmers were all graduates of those schools.  There are some voters as well but how much college football do they really have time to watch?

The funny thing is this is the only college sport in the U.S. that does not have some sort of playoff to determine who should be the champion!  The excuse is that the bowl system is way too important to disrupt it with a playoff.  Who among us was not devastated by the cancellation of the Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl?

Now we have LSU and Alabama.  LSU went to Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa to play Alabama on Nov. 5, 2011 and beat the Tide 9-6.  The game was marred according to some by thousands of people watching on TV going to sleep caused by the lack of offense.  However, other than the inability by the Alabama special teams to kick a field goal, it was a classic defensive battle.  These two defenses have more than a dozen players that will play on Sundays in the NFL and will be
quality players.

Despite the low scoring, there are also several offensive players on these teams that will also be very productive at the next level.

But since LSU has already won the first game, if Alabama wins the second game, the polls should give them a co-championship.  They can split that crystal football down the middle and give half to each team.  It is an ugly trophy anyway.  I will even provide the glass cutter.

The only other alternative that has any degree of legitimacy would be a rubber game to be played at a truly neutral site a week later to decide the issue once and for all.

I would have a totally different view if Bama had won.  That was expected.  But LSU proved their metal and won the game on Bama’s home ground.  That should count for something.

Why is major college football the only sport that does not have a true champion?  The answer is simple—greed.  It is the greed of the college presidents and conferences that drives a lot of the bowl system.  If you wonder how greedy they can be, check out the increases in tuition at your favorite institution of higher learning compared to the rate of inflation in the rest of the economy.  You will be shocked.

Those schools that play in the lesser bowls can cost the programs money by requiring them to buy tickets they cannot sell.  How many bowl games have you seen that have had mostly empty seats?  I have seen a bunch.

Even those teams in a BCS game can lose big money.  Craig Harris of the Arizona Republic reported
that the Virginia Tech athletic department reported a $421,046 loss.  Because VT is a public university, guess who will ultimately pay that tab?

There is also the greed of the broadcasters that is involved.  They make bundles of money
from the promotion and airing of the games.

If all of this buildup to what is a manufactured mythical national championship game bothers you, there is something we all can do that will get us a true four or six team playoff. 

Things will change only when the big money contributors to a number of colleges around the country tell their favorite school president that they will not contribute one dollar more until he or she changes his or her vote to support a true playoff.  Short of that, nothing will get us closer to a true playoff.

That is what I think.  Tell us what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits http://fryingpansports.com and hosts the Internet radio version of News, Notes and Rumors M-Th at 6 PM EST on http://mooheadradio.com/2.0/.  He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/ (select William E. Smith in the author list) and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/.